


Stay

by FreyReh



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 16:39:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15368832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreyReh/pseuds/FreyReh
Summary: Post-S8: The gang gets together for Kitty's 50th birthday. Old feelings stir between Jackie and Hyde.





	Stay

Note: A quickie of a piece featuring one of my original OTPS. I love this pairing to this day and I’ll never forgive the writers for season 8. Also I’ve been drinking whiskey and it brings out the drama.

Pairing: Jackie/Steven  
Fandom: That 70′s Show

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“Did you  _ever_ love me?”

Hyde blinked through the fog of his high to look through his shades toward Jackie. Everyone had come to celebrate Kitty’s fiftieth birthday. Her being here had put a slight damper on his mood. He hadn’t seen her in almost two years. No one had really talked to her lately other than Donna. Not even Kelso, despite them both being in Chicago. 

So the fact that she’d been gone so long but still had the audacity to ask him this question pissed him off. It opened up multiple cans of worms he’d thought long dead and buried. Hell, they’d refrained from burning each other all day, so of course that meant the inevitable eruption was coming in fast. 

“Of course not,” he said flatly, arms crossing over the chest of his AC/DC shirt. His muscles went from relaxed to tense, jaw tightening as his hands clenched. His toes started to itch, wanting to leave the room, but he was looking at her and despite his shades he couldn’t help but to meet her gaze. Her mismatched eyes swam with barely contained emotion. It was a thin veil that was easily punctured. Something he’d taken advantage of during the lowest point in his life. 

“I see,” she said with a slight nod. “Good to know.”

“Why does it even matter?” he asked.

Jackie shrugged a shoulder before sitting back further into the sofa. A pipe had burst a few months ago. The couch that used to be in the basement was gone, replaced by an orange one that Hyde had bought because it’d been too weird to not have a sofa in the basement. It was comfortable and didn’t droop like the other one had. Plus there was no tape on the cushions to cover the burn marks it’d gotten over the years from either a poorly executed circle or Kelso. The spool table was new, too, as was the TV. He still had his chair, though, and he leaned back into it while his left ankle rest near the knee of his right leg.

“It doesn’t,” said Jackie, her voice quiet. And that wasn’t right. She was supposed to be pissed. Threatening to kick his shins. Instead she looked defeated. He hated it when she looked like that. Hated it even more when he was the reason for it. Despite everything he still cared.

“Jackie.” He said her name gently. Softly. Before he could talk himself out of it he continued. He kept his shades on but he leaned forward, both feet now flat on the floor as he rest both his elbows on his knees. “C’mon, Man, you know I did.”

“It’s just...” She stopped herself. She had something to share and she was withholding it. Hyde remembered a time when she wouldn’t shut up about her life. Sharing every damn detail with animated flair. It was surprising what a few years could do to you. Despite her eye-liner rimmed eyes, sleek hair, and killer suit she’d worn from her drive straight from work to here, Hyde could still see the vulnerability. Maybe it was because she was the one woman other than Mrs. Forman who managed to worm her way into the core of his rotten heart that had him realizing this was serious. So, in an act of good faith, he reached up to pull off his shades and tuck them into the collar of his shirt before resuming his position with his elbows on his knees. He waited, patient, until she took a calming breath to continue. “I’ve been in therapy.”

She had her hands in her lap, fingers wringing together. She looked down, her hair curtaining her face and his fingers twitched because he wanted to tuck her hair behind her ear. He fought the impulse and it was Jackie who pulled the strands away before continuing. 

“It’s something I decided to do. For myself. After everything...” She shrugged a shoulder. “It’s been helping. A lot.”

“Okay...” 

He wasn’t sure what to say. Not really. He remembered the few times the school therapist tried to talk to him. He couldn’t remember all the times he’d told him to fuck off, get bent, or just flat out die. He hadn’t wanted to talk to anyone about why he sometimes showed up to school with bruises. Or why he was always fucking everything up. Finally, the school had stopped trying, and if it wasn’t for the Forman family who knew what would’ve happened to him. 

“Anyway. We’re on the topic of my fear of abandonment. I’ve found out some things. And one of them was how crazy I was to push marriage on basically every boyfriend I had. Though my therapist says I can’t use words like crazy.”

“So things are good then.”

“Well, right now I’ve found out things right up to Michael. I still have some work to do...”

“Ah, hence the question about my ever loving you. C’mon, Jackie, you know I did.”

“I’m not sure about anything anymore.” Jackie’s eyebrows scrunched together as she started to think on how to say next. “When it came to Michael I looked past all his flaws because I was desperate to have someone who really loved me. Someone devoted to me. Someone...”

“Who wasn’t like your parents.”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“I get it,” he said, meaning his own fucked-up life. Despite their different social upbringings they were still alike when it came to parental mishaps. Their parents were more concerned about themselves. They didn’t give a damn because if they had then maybe they’d been a bit more close to normal. 

“In the end I’m not sure I ever loved Michael. At least, not the way I...” She stopped herself, biting her bottom lip, and for some reason he really wanted her to have finished that sentence. “Not the way two people in love are supposed to love each other. I’ll always cherish him, but--- I was more in love with the illusion of us. How we looked more than how we actually clicked.”

“So what was it about me? Was it because I was the screw-up you could fix? Maybe you were happy you found someone who was more messed up than you were?” Hyde reached for his sunglasses and he froze as she reached over to place her hand on his leg. Panic set in because he couldn’t remember the last time she’d touched him. Not like this anyway. “Whoa there I know you and Fez broke up a long time ago but that doesn’t mean we’re getting back---OW!”

He rubbed his thigh where her touch had turned into a sharp pinch.

“I can’t believe you! I should have known better than to come here!” She got up. “You’re such an asshole, HYDE!”

“Yeah, well that isn’t news to me, Doll--- I’ve always known that.”

The basement door opened and in came Donna, her red hair chopped short and curling at the ends. Behind her was Eric, Fez, and Kelso. Jackie instantly plastered a smile on her face and turned away from a still glowering Hyde to get reacquainted with her friends. Despite their break-up her and Fez remained civil. Much more than with Steven. They’d tried working it out, but they were just too different, and now he was back with that psycho Caroline. Jackie was surprised to hear she hadn’t come and instead was in Florida visiting her grandmother. Though Fez had admitted to lying and telling her that Donna was at Antarctica living with the penguins... And Caroline actually believed him!

“So the party doesn’t start for an hour so I think now is the time to make the obligatory trip to the water tower,” said Forman. 

“Yeah, they just repainted it last spring, so I say we put some finishing touches on it,” said Kelso, holding up some paint cans with a dopey smile on his face. 

“Hell yeah,” said Hyde, shades firmly in place, bursting up from his chair and brushing past Jackie to take a can from Kelso. “Let’s do it!”

.

.

.

“I do not remember this being so high,” said Fez, swallowing uneasily before looking down. “Someone give me a beer!” 

Eric passed out beers. Jackie sat next to Donna while the boys planned whatever it was they were about to desecrate the water tower with. The girls were silent at first, taking sips of their beer, but it was Donna who broke the silence.

“How’s Chicago?”

“Windy.” Jackie smiled. “But good. And Milwaukee?”

“Also good. I got offered a good job at a radio station. I mean I wasn’t expecting to do this all my life but... It’s a credible station that broadcasts across the midwest.” Donna shrugged a shoulder. “I always have a college degree to fall back on if I get tired of it.”

“Donna that’s awesome,” said Jackie. “Good for you.”

“Is that ‘ _good for you_ ’ actually a compliment or are you messing with me?”

“It’s not a burn, Donna, I’m being sincere here.” Jackie rolled her eyes. “Stupid Lumberjack.”

“Hey!” Donna punched her on the arm, making Jackie spill onto her pantsuit. The old her would have screeched, stood up and called Donna names, but she instead bit her tongue and let out an annoyed huff. “Oops...”

“It’s fine.”

“Wow...  _Really_?”

“Yeah.  _Really_.”

“Ok.”

Donna didn’t know about the therapist. She didn’t know about the pains Jackie was taking to be better. She’d been indoctrinated at a young age by her father and mother both and told over and over again that she was supposed to be the pretty girl who got married and threw parties. Who was supposed to be nothing but a doting wife who spent her husbands money and showed her appreciation in the bedroom. Who was supposed to be on the top and did anything to stay there: including throwing insults at others to make them feel inferior. Each day was a new struggle. But this moment, where she chose to ignore the anger and refrain from calling Donna a  _‘fat cow’_  was a step in the right direction.

“I mean it’s not like its a super expensive suit or anything.”

_Baby steps._

“I said I was sorry.”

“No you didn’t but that is ok. I forgive you.” 

Jackie took a larger drink of her beer. She didn’t drink much. She didn’t want to be like her mother. But being here again prompted the desire to drink. Hell, if they had a circle later she’d probably participate in that too. This weekend was about letting loose and mending bridges long burned. She chanced a look over her shoulder, studying Steven once more. She knew he was the largest piece she needed to figure out before finally breaking free. Because he’d managed to do something not even her parents could. 

He’d shattered her.

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.

Kelso had fallen off the water tower and the group took it as a sign to leave. The boys left random scrawlings on the tower. Nothing too over the top. Kelso had joked about once again declaring his love for Jackie and it’d started a bickering war between he and Fez. It’d all been in jest, or so Jackie hoped anyway. They all drove back to the Forman home. Guests had already arrived and everyone broke off to help either finishing setting up or in Jackie’s case to change. She didn’t want to smell like beer and in reality she’d been meaning to change since arriving straight from work. She took her bag out of her car and headed toward the basement. She found Steven’s old room, locked the door, and started changing. Soon she had on a blue dress with white polka-dots that fell to her knee. She left her hair down but found some perfume to spritz back on her. she folded her suit neatly but she didn’t want to just put it in her bag and get beer smell all over her other clothes.

 _‘Stupid Donna, what an oaf,’_ she thought to herself, letting the insult out since Donna wasn’t around anyway to hear it or see her think it. She remembered Steven had paper bags back here at one point to use to hide his stash. So she started rummaging. In his old dresser in the top drawer she found what she was looking for. 

“Aha!”

She picked up a bag but it had stuff in it. She set it aside to grab another bag but hesitated when seeing a corner of a picture peaking out of the bag she’d moved. Curious she pulled it out. It was a photo of her and Steven. She was sitting on his lap in his chair. He was talking, an intense look on his face, probably about one of his conspiracy theories: and she was looking down at him with a soft smile on her face. She didn’t remember that day, but she looked so happy. Jackie’s fingers went down the middle of the photo. It looked like it’d been ripped in half at one point. Tape now held the photo together. Jackie was naturally curious so she took out that bag and searched for more items. There were more pictures. Some were damaged and taped up and others weren’t. 

Had she just found Steven’s _‘Jackie Box’_? Though his was in an old paper bag. Memories flooded her head with each item she pulled out. The bolo she bought him. The pamphlet to the car show he’d taken her to. Movie stubs. However, when her fingers wrapped around a square box she froze. Chills traveled down her spine as she finally pulled it out of the bag. Her breath caught in her lungs as what could only be a ring box sat innocently in her hand. 

“What the hell?” she whispered. “Is this...” She opened the lid. She had to. And inside was an engagement ring. The diamond wasn’t as big as she’d envisioned three years ago, but there it was, and the size of the diamond was the last thing she was freaking out about. She knew for a fact that this wasn’t Sam’s ring. Was... Was this  _her_ ring? She knew Steven had talked about marrying her before they broke up for good but---“Oh my God...” 

The doorknob rattled and she jumped. She immediately began stuffing things back in the bag. 

“What the fuck?”

It was Steven!

“Hang on a second!” she called, voice far from steady.

“Jackie? What are you doing in there?”

“Changing!” she answered, voice steadier as she quietly replaced the bag in the drawer. She snagged an empty one then closed the drawer quietly. She started stuffing her suit in the bag, not caring about wrinkles because she needed to get the hell out of there. “Donna the Amazon used her gigantor muscles to knock my beer over and some spilled on me. I’ll be be right out.”

“Fine... Just... Don’t touch anything! Especially my stash!”

“Like I’d even  _want_ to touch your dirty hippie crap in here!”

“Whatever!”

Then he was gone, as evidenced by the heavy sound of his boots and the slamming of the basement door.. And she could breathe. She slipped on a pair of heels and with one last look at the now closed dresser drawer she left what used to be Hyde’s room.

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“So, like, are you going to be in this weird mood all night or...”

Hyde looked up from where he was sitting on the steps to see Eric standing there. He had a beer in his hand and his flushed cheeks meant he was close to getting drunk. 

“If anyone is moody it’s Fez after Kelso ate his candy.”

“Is it because Jackie is here?” asked Eric, ignoring Hyde’s attempted redirect.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” said Eric. “You two have unfinished business.”

“Our business was finished the night I found Kelso naked in her hotel room.”

“Yeah, about that, did you even ask her what happened? Because from what I remember from that tape my mom sent and her summary of the fight in detail, she said nothing happened.”

“He was naked!” Hyde’s increased volume gained the attention of some of the guests. “WHAT?!”

“Steven...” Red came over, a stern look on his face. He pulled out his wallet and handed him a five. “We could use more ice.”

“But-”

And what a bitch of a coincidence that Red was sending him for ice when it was Kelso who’d been getting ice right before nailing Jackie. He wanted to tell Red to screw the ice but was smart enough not to. 

“Go get some ice and when you come back put a smile on your face. This is Kitty’s night and if you dumbasses ruin it I’ll shove my foot so far up your asses you won’t be able to sit for a week.”

“But I didn’t do anything!” protested Eric.

“You’re guilty by association. Now get!” Red eyed the beers in their hands. “Maybe get someone else to drive you. Like the foreign kid. He knows which side of the road he’s supposed to be on, right?”

“Oh my God,” muttered an embarrassed Eric, hand to his head. “ _Yes_ , Dad, he knows.”

“Good. Now go.”

“I know for a fact there is plenty of ice,” said Hyde. “I saw all the bags in the deep freeze when I was looking for a Popsicle earlier.”

“Then let’s go downstairs, circle it up, and then act like we went. Also,  _bonus_ , I keep the five bucks.”

“I like the way you think, Forman.”

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“Ah, this is more like it,” said Hyde. 

He, Eric, Kelso, and Fez sat around the spool table. Candles and incense were lit. Hyde was starting to get back some of that buzz he’d had earlier before Jackie had asked him that question. He just wanted to forget. All of it. For a little while. So he took another long pull of beer as well. His goal was to get just the right amount of drunk and high that he could find his old cot in his old room and crash. 

“Yeah man, I can’t do this as much as I want to anymore. Brooke says not with Betsy around. I mean I still smoke in the car sometimes. And at work--- But not in the house!”

“Stupid Betsy! Takes away all my Kelso time!” grumbled Fez.

“Hey, Fez! You can’t talk about my kid like that. Okay?” Kelso rolled his eyes. “But being a dad is totally lame sometimes. Though, I did get Betsy her first glove and ball. She’s gunna kick all the boys asses in baseball!”

“Yes, and she hurt your beautiful face with that bat,” said Fez, reaching over to caress Kelso’s face. There was a very small bruise near the point of his chin. 

“Hey, man, remember we talked about this!” argued Kelso, slapping Fez’s hands away.

“I can’t help it. You’re so pretty.”

Kelso gave a bashful smile to Fez. “Thanks. I know.”

Hyde and Eric looked at the two of them then shook their heads before starting their own conversation. 

“Anyway, Hyde, tell us what you’re going to do about-"

“Forman I swear to-”

“-Jackie,” finished Eric. 

“What about my Goddess?” asked Fez.

“Hyde still loves her.”

“I do  _not_ ,” argued Hyde. “I barely tolerate her. She means  _nothing_ to me.”

“You doth protest too-”

Eric was cut off by a throw pillow being tossed at his face. 

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The circle ruined, Hyde snuck out the door. He didn’t make it far before seeing Jackie standing by her car in the driveway. Part of him wanted to run. But another part, the part the alcohol and weed was controlling, decided now would be a good time to answer her question. So he walked up to her, hands tucked into his pockets and shades on, the heavy footfalls of his boots alerting her. She turned to face him and it was like being punched in the gut. Man she was beautiful. He always liked seeing her in dresses. It was totally not his usual type he looked for when it came to women. He normally went for the girls in tight pants, short skirts, and leather---Jackie was all soft and flowy and FUCK! 

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” she replied, just as Zen as he was. She’d retained everything he’d taught her. “What’s up?”

“You missed the circle.”

“Donna and I had our own in her old backyard. The new neighbors are gone so we weren’t bothered. We dipped our toes into their pool.”

“Nice.”

“Are the new neighbors nice?” asked Jackie, making small talk, leaning against the hood of her car.

“I guess. I don’t see them much. Not since...” He shrugged a shoulder, joining her on the other side of the hood, leaning against it and mirroring her stance. “Not since I got my house.”

“Donna said something about you getting a house.”

“W.B. insisted. I kept telling him no but he refused to listen. Threatened to get me one without my input. So one day he, Angie, and I went out and... Well let’s just say she went all out with the house she got and I kept it simple.”

“I’d like to see it some time...”

And this was the moment he decided to open the door he’d done his best to keep shut, locked, and welded in place. 

“You know, when I looked at the houses, something annoying kept happening. I kept asking myself if you would like it. Would Jackie like this fireplace? Would Jackie think this backyard was too small? Would you go for the house with the wood floors or the carpet? No matter how hard I tried to pick the house for myself... I kept thinking about you. So to answer your question from earlier, yes. I did love you. A part of me still does. I guess I do kinda get what you said to me before about Kelso. When you love someone it’s hard to let them go completely. It’s why I was such a jackass to you when Sam came because I was married to her while still you. I knew we were done so I wanted you to find someone better. Better than me. Kelso... So I pushed you away. I wanted you to go to Chicago and never look back. I’m glad you eventually did.”

“Steven...” Jackie shifted closer to him. He looked down at her and suddenly they were transported back in time. When they’d hang out in the Forman’s driveway for a moment of privacy away from their friends. He reached out, hand cupping the side of her face. Instead of pulling away she leaned into his touch and he took it as a good sign before lowering his lips toward hers. He gave her time to move away. Instead she let the kiss happen. That familiar spark hit the both of them. Their lips glided over each other, the hand cupping her cheek moving to her hair, the soft tresses slipping through his fingers. She was the one to break the kiss and their foreheads pressed together as they tried to process what happened. Since Steven came clean Jackie decided to as well. “I found the ring.”

“What?” he asked, pulling back. “I told you-”

“I didn’t mean to,” she said, biting her bottom lip. “I was looking for a bag to put my wet clothes in. I remembered you had some in your old room. So I wasn’t outwardly snooping, okay?”

“Okay.”

Jackie was taken aback. “That’s it? Just... Okay?”

“You said it was an accident and so it’s done.”

“Just like that?” she asked. 

“Just like that.”

“Huh.” She bit her bottom lip again and he looked at it before meeting her eyes. He didn’t move as she took off his glasses. She studied his face. She saw new wrinkles and laugh lines. His beard was trimmed and he didn’t have that gross mustache. “Sometimes I wish I could go back. To our first date. Or that summer we first got together, and just start over.”

“Me too,” he admitted, and Jackie was still surprised he was sharing so much.

“How drunk are you?” she asked suspiciously. 

“Dunno,” he said with a shrug. “Not very.”

“Then what are we doing?” asked Jackie. 

“I... I’m not sure...” 

“I-”

“Steven, Jackie, it’s time to cut the cake! Miss Kitty says she won’t let us have cake until everyone is inside. SO MOVE YOUR ASSES!” shouted Fez from sliding glass door. “You can suck face later!”

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.

.

Steven’s old bedroom door slammed open. Jackie and he were attached at the lips. He blindly reached out to close and lock the door before she hopped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. 

“You sure, Doll?” he asked, nuzzling at her neck.

“I’m sure,” she answered, nipping at his bottom lip. “I want you.”

No other words were spoken as he lay her down on his cot for the first time in years.

.

.

.

Jackie woke up Saturday morning to the smell of coffee and bacon. There was an arm thrown over her waist and she smiled as she settled further into Steven’s embrace. The smile soon fell when the repercussions of what they’d done started to line up. 

They had sex. 

More than once.

_What did that even mean?_

Were they friends now? Were they more than friends? Did he want to get back together or was this a one-time thing? Despite last night there was still a long road to travel before she could trust him again. Before she even thought to bare her heart and soul to him again. She knew she hurt him, too. Maybe...

Maybe they could heal together? The old her would’ve been rolling over, poking him awake, and demanding answers. The old her would’ve assumed they were back together and starting over. The old her would have been eager to forget everything and start from scratch. She was a different person now. A person who dipped their toes into the pool to test the temperature before jumping in.

“Too early,” he complained as she shifted, almost whined as he burrowed his face into the crook of her neck. She giggled as his scruff tickled her skin. “Go back to sleep.”

“I’ll try. I’m used to getting up early for my job. Not all of us own a store we can open whenever we want,” she said as a joke, perhaps a slight ribbing. 

“Sucks for you,” he said, voice still laced with sleep. Jackie lay there a good ten minutes before extracting herself from the cot despite wanting to stay with a once again sleeping Steven. She was wide awake. She knew the others would know she’d stayed due to the car in the driveway. So there was no hiding whose bed she’d shared. But, she could at least look presentable. So she slipped on the same dress from before then headed out into the basement. Kelso was on the sofa, snoring. Fez was on the floor, the corners of his lips stained by the frosting of Kitty’s cake. Jackie made it outside and to her car. She grabbed the travel bag she’d tossed into the back then re-entered the house through the sliding glass door to the kitchen. 

“Good morning, Jackie.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Forman.”

“How’d you sleep?” asked Kitty with a knowing smile while she scrambled some eggs. She thought of Steven as another son but for some reason unknown to Jackie she’d never given her a hard time like Donna with Eric. Something Jackie was thankful for.  

“Fine,” said Jackie, cheeks blushing a deep red. “Um... Is it OK if I take a shower here?”

“Of course, Dear, extra towels are in the linen closet.”

“Thanks...” 

Jackie rushed up the stairs. She didn’t meet the eyes of Red, who was reading the paper in his chair. She went into the bathroom and locked the door with a sigh. She took her time removing any leftover make-up, showered, and then changed into a pair of beige slacks and a loose navy blouse. She dried her hair and applied her make-up by the time Eric knocked on the door and demanded that Satan be gone from his bathroom. She flipped him off when she opened the door. 

.

.

.

“Man, Hyde, this house is pretty sweet!” said Kelso. “You could fit a lot of dogs in here! Oh, and chicks. But dogs!”

Once everyone had woken up and eaten breakfast they’d insisted on seeing Hyde’s house. No one but Eric had seen it since it’d been bought. It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, den, mud room, and a spacious kitchen with all the latest gadgets W.B. insisted he have. There was a porch and the garage was attached. The backyard was nice, too, and fenced. Hyde hadn’t done much with decorating. He was, after all, a man: and didn’t really care about that stuff. He had the essentials. Once Kitty came over and almost had him talked into furniture shopping but he’d managed to get her talked out of it thanks to Red. 

“I see you went with the wood floors,” said Jackie, making conversation, tapping the floor with the toe of her shoe. 

“I did.”

“Get some area rugs so your feet don’t get cold in the winter.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“We gotta have a party here, man,” said Eric. 

“Sure,” said Hyde with a shrug, still watching Jackie as she wandered into the kitchen area. Unlike the Forman house there was no swinging door. So he could still see her as she took in the counter tops. She stopped at the sink where the large window was and looked out it. Her face looked almost sad and so he abandoned the conversation of Kelso and Fez planning a party to instead check on her. “Well, I haven’t heard too many insults coming from your mouth so I’m taking that as a sign that you approve.”

A smiled tugged at the corner of her lips. “It’s nice, Steven. A perfect house for you and your family.”

“Jackie...” He stepped in behind her. “About last night...”

“Hyde! You better get out here! Kelso is already wanting to set stuff on fire!”

“Dammit, Kelso!” 

Hyde left and Jackie relaxed against the sink, hands clutching it. 

The house was perfect.

And a part of her was sad she’d never get to live in it.

.

.

.

They sat at what used to be their table. Donna and Eric shared the booth seat while the rest of them sat at chairs. The burgers at the Hub were still good, and Jackie refused to count calories as she bit into hers. Beside her sat Steven, his thigh pressed firmly against hers. He was talking about the store and Jackie loved how passionate about it he was still. His current gripe was about how popular the cassette tape was and how it was leaving vinyls behind. 

“Man, I don’t want those things in my store, but... If it’s what the kids are using nowadays----Ah, what am I saying, screw those kids!”

“I dunno, man, might come a day you might have to buckle,” said Eric.

“Never!” argued Hyde, throwing a fry at him. 

“Hyde!” protested Eric, taking a handful of his and tossing it at Hyde. Some landed on Jackie so she flung some back. “Help me! The devil is attacking me!”

“Shut up, Forman,” said Hyde in a warning tone. 

“Are you two like, back together or something?” asked Kelso innocently. 

“No!” protested Steven and Jackie at the same time.

“Oh but it would be so nice. You two were always so perfect for one another,” said Fez. 

“I suppose it would keep the whore cycle going,” said Eric with a laugh, trying to be funny. “First Kelso, then Hyde, then Kelso again and then Hyde and then Fez for the change-up--- Now back on Hyde and---OW!”

Jackie had kicked Eric under the table. Then she snapped up out of her chair, drink in hand. “You think you know everything about me you freaking nerd?” She threw the drink, it splashing all over the front of Eric. “Get bent you weasel!”

“What the hell?” shouted Eric, truly mad as he reached for napkins to wipe his face. “What’s her deal?”

“I dunno Eric I’m a fan of burns and all but that was below the belt,” said Kelso.

“Yeah, that was really insensitive and douche baggy,” said Donna, picking up her own drink. She stood then dumped it on his head. Hers had more ice and he squeaked as it went down the back of his shirt. “You’re such a pig!”

Donna went after Jackie, leaving the boys alone. Hyde hadn’t said anything and when Eric looked at him he felt some fear. Hyde was glaring at him. Eric was certain Hyde wanted to hit him. 

“Hyde, man, I didn’t mean-”

“Forman, sometimes, you just gotta learn when to keep your mouth shut.”

Hyde left, but not before viciously frogging Eric. That prompted Fez and Kelso to follow, leaving Eric alone in a puddle of soda nursing his throbbing arm. 

“Well... This sucks.”

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.

.

When everyone managed to get back to the Forman house Jackie’s car was gone. It stirred another argument with Donna and Eric that had her slamming the glass door closed and telling Eric to  _‘get bent’._  Once Kitty found out from Fez and Kelso what Eric had said to Jackie she’d grounded him on the spot. When he argued he was an adult his father threatened to kick his ass which prompted Eric to hide out in his old room. Not because his parents told him to!

Kelso had decided to go visit his family and Fez tagged along. That had left Hyde alone in the kitchen. He sat at the table, lost in thought, and jumped when a hand went to his shoulder. 

“You should go find her.”

“She’s long gone, Mrs. Forman.”

“Steven... You are my second son. And just like my first son you sometimes need a swift kick in your keester.” Kitty gave a small laugh before sitting next to him. “Now, I’ve watched the both of your grow up over the years. You more than her, but I do know one thing. You two do sometimes bring out the worst in one another... But you also bring out the best. I saw the looks you two gave each other this weekend. You still love each other.”

He didn’t deny it. He couldn’t lie. Not this time. Without another word he got up from the table and went to his car. Donna wished him luck from her spot on the porch swing, insisting she’d stay there just in case Jackie came back. Steven was ready to follow Jackie to Chicago, but a glance at the water tower had him changing course. He sped, parked next to Jackie’s car, and then climbed up. He didn’t say anything as he settled next to her. He saw the tear-stains on her cheek and he promised he’d punch Forman in the jaw when he saw him next.

“When I was twelve I got my first boyfriend and I had our lives planned. I knew when were going to get married and have kids. He was going to work with my father while I planned events. We were going to live in a mansion and everyone would be jealous over how much he loved me and how rich we were...” Jackie laughed. “He broke up with me the next day. Said I was too weird. The cycle kept going on... Until you. You challenged me, Steven. Had me thinking of things outside of marriage and wealth... Well, sometimes.” He reached out, settling his hand over hers. “The whore cycle, as Eric said, continued. I kept wondering why everyone kept leaving me. Cheating on me. I gave my virginity to Michael thinking that would be what kept him by my side.” Jackie snorted at that. “How stupid I was then.”

“You were never stupid. A but gullible sometimes. But never stupid.”

“After you married Sam instead of me I thought then and there something was wrong with me. I think I chose Fez then because he was safe. I knew he wanted me. Even though I didn’t want him I knew he wouldn’t leave me.” 

“Jacks-”

“I’m leaving tonight.” Jackie slowly took her hand back. “It’s for the best. I found out today why I left this place. I hate it here. Being back has me... Spiraling.”

“But Jackie.”

“Steven... Please don’t make this hard...” She looked up at him and he saw that pain in her eyes. He swallowed that lump in his throat. He hammered down the desire to beg her to stay. To beg her to come live in that house he’d picked out for the both of them. Instead, he just nodded, and she smiled before shifting closer: resting her head on his shoulder like so many times before. “I do love you, Steven.”

“I love you, too.”

.

.

.

“...so then Hyde punched him right in the jaw. It was so great. I love Eric, but he deserved it! Oh, just thinking about what he said to you gets me mad all over again! I might go kick him in the shins for you!”

“I still don’t see what you see in that twerp,” said Jackie, scowl on her face. 

“You know what? Sometimes I don’t either. Hey! I gotta go. I’m beat after Hyde asked me to go shopping with him. He wanted my opinion on area rugs for his house. And before you mock my taste don’t worry, Mrs. Forman and Angie came, too. We all approved of the final choice.”

“Area rugs?” asked Jackie, pausing in filing her nails. 

“Yeah. Something about not wanting cold feet in winter. Makes sense. Anyway, I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Yeah... Okay... Bye...” Jackie hung up the phone. Then, like a dam, everything burst in her chest. She started laughing and crying at the same time. She stood up from the sofa that came with the pre-furnished apartment and started looking around. She felt suffocated here. Suddenly instead of a one-bedroom apartment in Chicago she wanted to be in a three-bedroom house in Point Place. 

 _‘No,’_  said her brain.  _‘Don’t go down that road again.’_

 _‘Yes,’_  said her heart.  _‘Go to him. Stop lying to yourself. He loves you. Go._ ’

 _‘He will hurt you again,_ ’ warned her brain.

 _‘Things will be different this time,’_  insisted her heart. 

 _‘That is what you always say,’_ said her brain.

Despite being conflicted, Jackie grabbed her coat and slipped it on. She took her keys and purse and left her apartment. She locked the door, rushed out of the complex, and got into her car. She drove straight through, the rain starting on the last thirty minutes of her journey. She wasn’t thinking. Her heart was in control. It took her a while to remember the turns to his house. When she got there it was past midnight. She got out of her car, aware of the rain soaking through her layers of clothing. She rushed to the door and knocked until it swung open. 

“Jackie?”

“Area rugs,” she said, almost breathless. “You got area rugs!”

“I... What?”

“Steven...” She was still standing in the rain and he stepped back to let her in. She started shivering and he cursed while helping her out of her jacket. She looked so vulnerable here in her pajama bottoms and sleeping top. He went to the sofa, grabbed the blanket Donna insisted he buy to match the rugs, and then wrapped it around her. “Steven you bought area rugs.”

“Well you said-”

“I know what I said but why did you get them?”

“This has got to be one of the strangest conversations we’ve ever had.” He pulled her close and ran his hands up and down her body to warm her. She was aware now that he wasn’t wearing a shirt and that his feet were bare. He’d pulled on a pair of jeans that hung low on his lips and were unfastened. “Jackie, what are you doing here?”

“I don’t know. I just... I had to come here. I...” Her teeth started to chatter. “I’m sorry, I should go.”

“Jackie you’re freezing and wearing slippers instead of shoes. C’mon, Doll, let’s get you some dry clothes.”

“Steven,” Jackie kept a firm stance then reached up to cup his face. He wasn’t wearing his shades. She could see him. All of him. “Why did you get this house?”

He tried to think of a lame excuse. He wanted to deflect. To come up with the cowards answer and say it was W.B. and not him who chose the house. Instead, he told her the truth. Something he probably wouldn’t have done three years ago.

“Because you once described your perfect house to me when we were dating. You hid behind the mask of wanting a large mansion with a large wait staff... But behind closed doors you told me you loved the Forman house because it was always full. I told you before. When W.B. bought the house... I wanted something you would like. Everything in this house I got hoping you’d like it. It’s weird, I know, because we weren’t dating or really even friends at the time but--- I thought of you. Okay?”

“Steven...” Her chest was tight. Her bottom lip trembled. Her wide eyes were filled with fear due to not wanting to be rejected. However, she decided to once again jump. If she were to shatter again she would eventually recover. Maybe. But she didn’t want to live the rest of her life regretting this moment if she didn’t leap. “Steven... Ask me to stay...”

“Jackie...” Hyde let out a shaky sigh. His eyes closed as he rest his forehead against hers. Only a couple seconds passed before he spoke, his voice filled with the vulnerability he hid behind his zen. “Stay?”

**END**


End file.
